Hard disc drives are common information storage devices having a series of rotatable discs that are accessed by magnetic reading and writing elements. These data elements, commonly known as transducers, or merely as a transducer, are typically carried by and embedded in a slider that is held in a close relative position over discrete data tracks formed on a disc to permit a read or write operation to be carried out.
As distances between the slider and the disc decrease, due to the ever-growing desire to reduce the size of the disc drive and to pack more data per square inch, the potentially negative impact due to contamination on the slider, disc, or other disc drive component increases. Unwanted contaminants anywhere in the disc drive can adversely affect fly height behavior, such as with elevated or decreased fly height, create fly asymmetry in roll or pitch character, produce excessive modulation, and even result in head-disc crashing or contact.
What is needed is a better mechanism to remove contaminants from the disc surface.